Abstract Reinforced concrete (RC) frame–shear wall structures are extensively used in urban areas. As a major part of the lateral load resisting system, the shear wall is a key component for the seismic performance assessment of such structures. In this study, a method for the seismic damage assessment of shear wall components is proposed by using the story curvature as the engineering demand parameter (EDP). The method involves (1) a shear wall story curvature calculation method and (2) a shear wall damage limit determination method that uses the story curvatures as the EDP. The story curvature adopted in this study denotes the maximum shear wall curvature within each story level. Based on the piecewise linear assumption of the curvature distribution, the story curvature calculation method requires story drifts and shear wall key design parameters as inputs. Meanwhile, based on the plane cross-sectional assumption and sectional analysis, the damage limits can be determined by considering the influences of the shear wall key design parameters, such as the axial load ratio, shear wall component length, and material information, thereby yielding more accurate estimation. Finally, the proposed method is validated by comparing it with the numerical results of several wall panels and an RC frame–shear wall structure. It is further validated by comparing it with the experiment results obtained from six shear wall tests and a full-scale shaking table test of a seven-story shear wall structure.